Scabies case found in Killarney nursing home

Visiting restrictions are in effect at a nursing home in Killarney, Man., after a case of scabies was confirmed there last week.

Health officials confirm that there is one case of scabies at the Bayside Personal Care Home in the southwestern Manitoba community.

As a precaution, all 60 residents of the facility, as well as nurses and other staff, are being treated for the contagious skin rash.

As well, visitors are being asked to stay away until the facility has been sanitized, says Dr. Amy Frykoda, chief medical officer with the Prairie Mountain Health Region.

"They're not saying that people cannot come in [to] visit — it's not that the doors are locked or anything like that — but this is just to encourage less visitors so that the appropriate preventative treatments and the appropriate cleaning can happen," she told CBC News on Thursday.

Officials are asking those who do visit their loved ones at the home to wear gowns and gloves for their own protection.

Scabies is an infection caused by tiny parasites, called mites, that burrow under the skin and lay eggs.

People who become infected by scabies may have symptoms that include itchiness and a rash that can take several weeks to appear.

It can spread to other people through skin-to-skin contact or by sharing clothing and bedding. While contagious, the infection is treatable.

Anne Magwood, whose mother has lived at the home for five years, said the facility was temporarily shut down to visitors last week.

"They didn't want any visitors coming in and … they were going to be treating everybody, whether they had it or not," she said.

Frykoda said scabies can be common in crowded places like personal care homes.

"This would not be a cause for concern but if people that have been there or if people are concerned about a rash they themselves have, then they should present to their physician to inquire if it is scabies and if they would need treatment," she said.